Full Circle (pt. 1)
by Bri
Summary: Ignore the last three paragraphs of The Realms of the Gods, and insert this little ditty in. Part one of. . . many. ;)


From under the willow tree, Daine could see the dust kicked up by the hooves of Alanna's mount. As she stepped forward to get a better look and see if anyone was following the lady knight, as Cloud had said, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.  
  
Daine spun in time to see Numair begin to collapse.  
  
She rushed back to him, grabbing his shoulders to help ease his descent. There was no possible way she could heft his lanky frame back to his feet, so she settled for dropping down on the ground beside him. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I thought...I had...that magical backlash...under control..." Numair murmured, then blanched as he saw the rider heading in their direction. Alanna was galloping towards them with a stubborn and worried expression. He blinked his dark eyes and looked up at the young woman before him, trying to focus as the world spun around him. "Can I take a nap?"  
  
"Hold on, Alanna's coming and she has healing powers. You'll be fine, just don't pass out on me before she comes-" Daine realized she was babbling and shut her jaw with a snap. Their friends were almost atop them when Alanna vaulted off her horse and hurried towards them, her violet eyes brimming with worry.  
  
Without even a greeting, the Lioness knelt down in the grass beside Numair, checking him over for wounds. Daine tried to hide a blush as she remembered how she and the tall mage had done that particular act just several minutes ago. Alanna glanced up at Daine with a puzzled expression. "He wasn't wounded physically?"  
  
She shook her head, brown curls flying. "I don't think. He said something about backlash or something..."  
  
"Magical backlash, magelet," Numair croaked, reaching upwards to touch her hand. "I'll be fine, I just need-"  
  
"-a little water and a few days rest?" The king's champion gave him a wry smile. "You say that every time you battle an enemy mage, and you end up gulping gallons of fluids and sleeping for a week."  
  
"That's what I said," he shot back, then bringing a hand to his temple as a blinding headache set in. Alanna laughed, resting a palm on his curly head as she closed her eyes and concentrated for a few minutes. Daine waited patiently until their eyes flew open. They turned with identical smiles to the young woman at almost exactly the same moment. She had to laugh.  
  
"So you'll be okay?" She turned to ask Numair, the worry in her voice turning to accusation. "You gave me a scare, there, almost fainting on me like that!"  
  
He chuckled, sitting up and leaning his back against the soft bark of the tree. The mage reached out to take her hand. Giving it a gentle squeeze, he said, "Not like I had much choice in it, magelet."  
  
"I know, I know." Daine moved over to kiss his cheek and lean against him for support as Alanna watched the two suspiciously, her violet eyes dancing.  
  
"Is there something going on here that I don't know about?" she asked with an open grin, crossing her arms across her chest.  
  
Daine and Numair shot startled glances at each other in the same moment.  
  
"Not at all!" Daine gasped.  
  
"Well, I suppose that perhaps there's something." Numair interjected as his lover shot him a frightened look.  
  
"Maybe." She amended, moving closer to him.  
  
He finally smiled, crading Daine's head against his shoulder. "There's something going on that you don't know about, yes."  
  
Alanna smiled cannily. "I knew it."  
  
"Like always," Numair said with a resigned sigh. "Do everyone a favor and don't be so gods-be-cursed right all the time!"  
  
Daine looked up into his eyes. "Should we tell people about...about, well, us? It's going to get out after awhile, and it's better if we tell about it instead of some servant finding out and spreading gossip."  
  
Brushing a stray lock of her red her out of her face, Alanna offered, "If you decide you want to keep it secret, I won't tell anyone. But you really should tell people because, like you said, Daine, people are going to find out on their own."  
  
The girl smiled at a passing sparrow and swiveled to face him. "Let's not worry about that for now. At the moment, we need to get out of Legann."  
  
--to be cont.-- 


End file.
